''Southern Rain'' is the sixth studio album by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

artist

Billy Ray Cyrus Billy Ray Cyrus (born August 25, 1961) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, and is known for his hit single " Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and ...

released October 17, 2000. album sold 14,000 copies in its first week of release and would go on to sell over 160,000 copies. It produced five singles on the Hot Country Songs charts, including the number 17 "You Won't Be Lonely Now". This was his first album for

Monument Records Monument Records is an American record label in Washington, D.C. named for the Washington Monument, founded in 1958 by Fred Foster, Buddy Deane (a prominent Baltimore disc jockey at WTTG), and business manager Jack Kirby. Buddy Deane soon left ...

after leaving

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

in 1999.

Critical reception

A writer for About.com said, "Billy Ray fans will love this album, and those who may know Billy Ray only from "

Achy Breaky Heart Achy may refer to: * Suffering from pain Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associate ...

" should give him a chance to show that he's more than just a one-hit wonder. He's got a lot more to give, and he gives it here on ''Southern Rain''." William Ruhlmann of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

wrote that it was "a sturdy collection of average country songs effectively performed by a minor country talent. All of which was fine, unless you were hoping for an album that measured up to Cyrus' early sales figures, which, of course, Monument was."

Alanna Nash Alanna Nash is an American journalist and biographer. Born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1950, Nash holds a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and is the author of several acclaimed books. She is a 1972 graduat ...

of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...

'' said, " he gets nearly swallowed up in the power-pop ballads, he shines on the roots rockers — proof that underneath his lightweight, Chippendale reputation, there’s an artist dying to get out." A writer for ''

People A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of proper ...

'' called the record "standard Cyrus, which means much of it sounds like the work of a frustrated heavy metal singer." The tracks "Hey Elvis", "We the People", "Love You Back" and "Burn Down the Trailer Park" were picked as highlights.

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from ''Southern Rain'' liner notes. ;Technical *Jeff Balding - recording (all tracks except 11), mastering *

Blake Chancey Blake Chancey (born September 11, 1962) is an American record producer and music business executive, known primarily for his work in country music. Formerly an executive vice president and chief creative officer for Sony Music, he later formed a ...

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

(tracks 3-6, 9, 10 only) *Billy Ray Cyrus - production (track 11 only) *

Dann Huff Dann Lee Huff (born November 15, 1960) is an American record producer and songwriter. For his work as a producer in the country music genre, he has won several awards, including the ''Musician of the Year'' award in 2001, 2004, and 2016 at the Co ...

- production (all tracks except 11) *Mike Janas - recording (track 11 only) *Terry Shelton - production (track 11 only) ;Musicians on all tracks except 11 *Tim Akers -

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

*Matt Basford -

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

on "We the People" *Mike Brignardello -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

Pat Buchanan Patrick Joseph Buchanan (; born November 2, 1938) is an American paleoconservative political commentator, columnist, politician, and broadcaster. Buchanan was an assistant and special consultant to U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, ...

- electric guitar,

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

(tracks 3-6, 9, 10 only) *

Joe Chemay Joe Chemay is an American bassist and background singer, known for his recording session work. Biography Chemay started out working as a session and touring support musician in Los Angeles, but moved to Nashville in 1989. Chemay has worked wi ...

- background vocals (tracks 3-6, 9, 10 only) *Lisa Cochran -

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

Eric Darken Eric A. Darken is an American percussionist, composer, and programmer. Biography Drawing inspiration from his grandfather, a band leader. Darken began playing drums at age 12, and played timpani and mallets in high school. Darken attended ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

* Paul Franklin - steel guitar *Vicki Hampton - background vocals *

* Gordon Kennedy - electric guitar, acoustic guitar *

Chris McHugh Chris McHugh (born 1964) is an American musician. He began his career as the drummer of Christian rock band White Heart from 1986 to 1989. He also worked in the recording of several of their later albums. Chris McHugh is on the Nashville "A" ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

*Gene Miller - background vocals *

Steve Nathan Steven Jay Nathan is an American keyboardist. He is known for his session work in Muscle Shoals and Nashville studios. Biography Nathan was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. In 1977, Nathan moved to Muscle Shoals, Alabama. After touring wit ...

- keyboards *Michael Joe Sagraves -

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica in ...

on "Southern Rain" ;Musicians on Track 11 *Billy Ray Cyrus - background vocals *Steve French - drums, background vocals *Keith Hinton - electric guitar *Corky Holbrook - bass guitar *Michael Joe Sagraves - electric guitar *Terry Shelton - acoustic guitar, electric guitar *Barton Stevens - keyboards *Don Von Tress - acoustic guitar

Chart performance

Album

Singles

*^A "You Won't Be Lonely Now" reached #33 when ''RPM'' Country Tracks cessed production.

References

{{Authority control 2000 albums Billy Ray Cyrus albums Monument Records albums Albums produced by Dann Huff